Window-washing machine



March 20, 1928. l 1,662,887

H. A, HARRIS wINDow WASHING MACHINE Original Filed Aug.14. 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .l -r-w '1 Mmmm? v I l( l -l March 2o, 192:1 1,662,887

H. A. HARRIS WINDOW WASHING MACHI NE Original Filed Aug.14, 1920 4 Sheetsheet 2.

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March 20, 1928.

H. A. HARRIS WINDOW WASHING MACHINE Original Filed Auglll,A 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet' March 20,1928.

1,662,887 H. A. HARRIS WINDOW WASHING MACHINE original Filed Aug.14, 1920 4 Shetsmeet 4 i gull/119% si o@ III vPatented Mar. 20, 1928.

UNITED s.@,'rA,r-Es;

PATENT, OFFICE.

HARRY A, HARRIS, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW-WASHING MACHINE.

Application filed August 14, 1920, Serial No. 403,448. Renewedk January 15, 1926.

The inventionl relates to" window washing l to go outside of the room such as is necessary when the windows are washed` manually.

Y The cleaning of Ywindows in large buildings, and especially in high buildings, is always fraught with grave danger that the person acting as cleaner, although fastened by means of a strap toV hooks projecting from the building wall adjacent the window, may not properly secure the strap or in moving from one window to the other may lose his balance or become dizzy and fall to the ground.

The present Invention aims, therefore, to

preclude entirely the necessityv of the cleaner l occupying a position outside of the room or the building, but permitting the arrangement of a cleaning device from with-in and having means 'for cleaning the outside of windows.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a power-driven device which may be driven froniany suitable source of power, and thus may be easilystarted and stopped whenever required.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a window cleaning machine, which is equipped with asqueegee or a rotary brush capable of traveling in Contact with the outside of the window panes, and thereby effect the cleaning operation.

, It is a further object of the invention to provide a device, in which the cleaningmedium will reciprocate vertically, the downward movement being eected at comparatively low speed, yandthe upward movement being effected at comparatively high speed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide suitable water supply to the cleaning medium to etfecta thorough cleansing o'f windows. i

It is` also an object of the invention to provide a device which maybe conveniently adjusted so-.as to insure the cleansing oa-ll parts of the windows.

' lVith these and other objects in view which will hereinafter a pear,.,the invention comprises the meansk ereinafter "described, and particularly pointed out in the claims andl Villustrated in the accompanying drawings,

, ing m11.

Fig. 1 is. a'sectional elevation of a portion cfa building. wall and a window.v to. which the improved device has been applied;

Fig. 2.- is a plan view of the device with parts inA section and; the cover of the friction drive casing removed.;

Fig. 3' is a. section on, the line 3-3`of Fig. 1 .or 2;

Fig.` 45 is a ysection on the line '4-4 *ofv Fig. 2';- e5V Fig. 5 is a section` on the line 5)#5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 'is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig.`3`; f

Fig. 7 isa section on the line 7-7 of 70 Fig. 4; y

Fi'g. Sis ay fragmentary view of the modi-k fica-tion; and, i f i Fig. 9y is a section on the line 9,-9 of 1 `ig. 8.A Referring to the several views ofthe drawing, 1 designates a motor of any: suitable type which is securedto a bed plate 2 by a pluralityv of screws 3. The bed plate 2 is formed in longitudinal ,direction kwith a dove-tail groove 4.' tok receive'a corresponds ingly formedy tenon 5. ofal plate 6. The latter again is formed with a transverse dove-tail groove 7 into whichextends a cor respondingly shaped tenen 8 of a fixed transverse member or base plate 9`to the under side of which are secured a plurality of brackets 1() by screws 11. The brackets 1() terminate at the lower ends in huh port-ions 12, the bore of which is tapped for the pas# sage of spindles 13 formed at their inner ends with abutment blocks 111L and at` their outer end with a hand wheel 15. The abutment blocks 1li engage theinner side ofthe building wall, generally designated by 16. To the ,brackets 1()v the depending arm 170i arhinjged bracket 18 is secured, such as by riveting or any other preferred or approved manner and at the outer. end thebracket 18"is` formed with a depending fiange or lip 19 `which engages the outerside of the building wall 16, 1 l l y From the Yforegoing it follows that the plates Q, 6, and '9 are supported from the "building wall by the engagement of the bracket 19 ,with the outer side of the wall and the clamping engagement between the and the inner side of the build- It is also evident that the bed 'plate' 2 'may be shifted in transverse .di-rec# spindles 1K3 tion with relation to the window sill on the tenen 5 and that the plates 2 and 6 may be shifted in transverse longitudinal direction on the tenen 3, for the purpose of enabling the device to reach any part of the outside of the window, as will hereinafter further appear.

The motor l is equipped with a shaft 20, which is secured bya coupling 21 to agstub shaft 22, forming therewith a drive shaft, and carrying a worm 23 in engagement with a worm wheel 24 keyed to a shaft 25. The latter enters at its left end, as viewed in Fig. 3 into a gear casing 26 and has keyed thereto a gear 27 which meshes with a gear 28 arn ranged in superposed relationin the casing 26 and carried by a stub shaft 29 journaled in a bearing formed integral with the casing 26. i

An indicated in Fig. 6,the casing formed with an inlet- 30 and an outlet 31 for a purpose hereinafter further referred to. The other end of the shaft 25 carries a friction drive cone 32 which is of stepped for-V mation to provide for two speeds. In alignment with the intermediate shaft A25, but extending at right angles thereto and parallel to the shaft 22 a shaft 33 `is journaled in a casingV 34 secured to the bed plate 2 by a plurality of screws 35. The shaft 33 has splined thereon a Vsleeve 36 which has secured at its ends friction wheels 37 and 38, respectively, the former adapted to con` gageinent of the wheels 37 and 38 with the cone drive, a lever 39 is pivotally secured to the easing 34 as at 40and its lower end carries a roller 42 which enters a circumferential groove in the sleeve 36 (Fig. 4). The outer end of the shaft 33 carries a pinion 44 in mesh with agear 45 arranged subjacent thereto on a` shaft 46 and the gear 45 is in turn meshing with a pinion 47 keyed to a shaft 48. Driven shaft 4S extends to the outside of the building and carries at its eX- treme outer end a beveled gear 49. The shaft is `journaled at the inner end in the gear casing 34 and at the outer end in a bracket 5() which is supported in position by a pair of supporting rods 51, 52 (Fig. 2) which extend `outwardly. and horizontally from the gear casing 34.. The bracket 50` is formed with a lower curved portion 53 directed outwardly and has pivoted thereto a vertical frame 54 whichfintermediate its ends is braced by an arm 55 integral `with the bracket 50 and secured to the frame 52 by cap screws 56. The vertical frame 54 is provided at its upper and lower ends with bear- Y -ings 57 and 58 to receive therein a vertical shaft 59 formed with square threads 60. The beveled gear 49 of the shaftv L.t3-meshes' with a similar gear 61 keyed on the shaft 59,(- whereby the latter is` continuously driven. An elongated nut 62 surrounds the shaft 59 and is formed with a horizontal extension 63, to which is secured at its extremity a squeegee 64 adapted to bear on the outer side of a window pane. The extension 63 is formed with a port 65 which terminates at the operative end of the squeegeee to supply the necessary water while cleaning the win dow. The extension 63 is formed with an aperture for the` entry of a` flexible hose which leads to a pipe 67 connected to the water outlet `3l. i lThe operation of the device is as follows: With `the parts in the position as shown in Fig. 1, upon rotation of the motor, rotation is imparted to the shaft 25 and by the engagement of the members of the friction drive the shaft 48 is rotated which through the bevel gears 49 and 6l imparts rotation, to the vertical shaft 59. The elongated nut 62, due to the rotation of the shaft 59, is

then forced to ascend, thus bringing the` by a `thorough cleansing is obtained.` In

order to force thereturn of the .squeegee to the loWermostposition, it is merely necessary to actuate the `clutch lever 39 to bring the other wheel in engagementwith the cone 32, and due to the reversal of rotation of the shaft `59 the elongated nut moves 4downwardly, bringing the squeegee into starting or original position. In'view of the different sizes of the friction wheels, the speeds of the shaft 43 in both directions vary, whereby the downward movement of the squeegee is slower than the upward.movement Then a certain selected vertical portion of thev window has been cleaned andthe adjacent portion thereof is to be washed, the bed plates 2 and 6 are shifted in transverse dif rection on the tenen .8 of the plate 9 to the desired extent, whereupon again reciprocatory movement is imparted to the elongated nut 62 and squeegee 64 and the same operation is repeated as described before. Y

` `Figures 8 and9 disclose a slight modification, permitting the employment of a rotary brush for the cleaning of a Window, in lieu of a squeegee. The elongated nut 62 surrounds the vertical shaft 59 and the exten-V sion 63 of' the nut has secured thereto a brush holder 68 by a sleeve `72, which is fastened Yto the brush holder 68 by screws` 73 `extending through a flange of the sleeve 72,

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the flexible hose 66 and the port 69 terminates in a horizontal bore 70, for the supply of water to the rotary brush. The sleeve 72 is formed integral with a pinion 74 which is in mesh with the vertical rack 7l formed integral with or, if preferred, formed separate and secured to the vertical frame 54. It is obvious that upon rotation of the shaft 59 the elongated nut 62 will again reciprocate in vertical direction, but this movement will cause rotation of the pinion 74 and of the brush holder 68.

The drawings disclose an embodiment of the invention by way of example. Various changes and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit of theV invention. I, therefore, do not confine myself to the details of construction and arrangement of parts, as shown, but claim my invention as broadly as the state of the art permits.

I claim:

l. In a device of the character described, a fixed member, an elongated bed plate mounted on said fixed member and overhanging the same, means permitting sliding of said bed plate relative to said fixed member in longitudinal and transverse directions, a cleaning member mounted for vertical reciprocation on the end of said overhanging bed plate, means for actuating said cleaning member and manually controlled means interposed between said actuating means and said cleaning member for imparting different speeds to said cleaning member.

2. In a window cleaning device, a fixed member adapted to be clamped to a window sill, a bed plate mounted on said fixed member and projecting beyond the sill, a cleaning member mounted for reciprocation on the end of said projecting bed plate, vmeans for actuating said cleaning member and manually controlled means interposed between said actuatin means and said cleaning member for causing said member to move with greater speed while actuated in one direction than while actuated in the reverse direction.

3. In a window cleaning device, a bed plate adapted to be mounted on a window sill and protruding beyond the sill, a cleaning member mounted for vertical reciproca` tion on the protruding bed plate end and contacting with the window pane, a rotatable shaft geared to said cleaning member, a drive shaft mounted on said bed plate, a driven shaft operatively connected to said rotatable shaft, an intermediate shaft between said drive shaft and said driven shaft and adapted to impart rotation from said drive shaft to said driven shaft, ymeans to drive said drive shaft, and means to supply a cleaning fluid to said cleaning member upon rotation of said intermediate shaft.

4. In a window cleaning device, a bed plate adapted to be mounted on a window sill and protruding beyond the sill, a cleaning member mounted for vertical reciprocation on the protruding -bed plate end and contacting with the window pane, a r'otatable shaft geared to said cleaning member, a drive shaft, a driven shaft operatively connected to said rotatable shaft, an intermediate shaft having a friction clutch thereon operatively related'to said driven shaft and adapted to impart rotation thereto from the said drive shaft, and means to drive said drive shaft.

5. In a window cleaning device, a bed plate adapted to be mounted on a window sill and protruding beyond the sill, a cleaning member mounted for vertical reciprocation on the protruding bed plate end and contacting with the window pane, a rotatable shaft geared to said cleaning member, a drive shaft, a driven shaft oaer'atively connected to said rotatable sha t, an intermediate shaft having a friction clutch thereon operatively related to said driven shaft and adapted to impart rotation thereto from the said drive shaft, means to drive said drive shaft, and means operative thru said clutch to cause said cleaning member to .move with a greater speed when actuated in one direction than when actuated in the reverse direction.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HARRY A. HARRIS. 

